Burger Joint Checklists Kit Pro: Burger Restaurant Opening & Closing Checklist Templates for Excel

The same as a restaurant opening checklist, built around the grill, the fryers and the make line, one list per area and in order. Kitchen: personal hygiene first; then the hood on and the kitchen ventilated before any equipment, a check that the hood really draws, and the gas checked (if you smell gas, don't turn anything on); the flat-top griddle preheated to about 400–450 °F, the fryers on with the oil level checked and the oil at 350–355 °F for fries, and the bun toaster on; the walk-in at 41 °F or below and the freezer at 0 °F or below, with the readings logged; raw ground beef kept at 41 °F or below until it hits the griddle (never left out to temper); buns, toppings, house sauces, cheese and bacon prepped; fries, onion rings and coleslaw; and the make line set up in order. Front of house: lights and A/C, tables, the menu board (burger of the day and combos), the POS and card terminal and the starting bank. Delivery: tablets and delivery apps on, burger boxes, bags, napkins and fry containers stocked, and menus and 86s updated in the apps. Every task needs who does it, a due-by time and initials. The "Burger Joint Opening & Closing Checklists" workbook has the kitchen and front of house already written, and the whole-restaurant checklist covers the alarm, lights, POS, griddles and fryers.

Like any restaurant closing checklist: cleaning and shutdown by area, food stored and the money counted, with the grill and the fryers as the extra steps. Kitchen: leftover raw ground beef covered, dated and stored below ready-to-eat food and above any raw chicken; cut toppings and house sauces covered, dated and at 41 °F or below; leftover buns bagged; the griddle scraped and degreased; the fryers off and the oil filtered or changed the way your fryer maker says; the hood turned off last, once the griddle and the fryers have cooled; the make line, trays, spatulas and smash press cleaned; floors, trash, cardboard and used oil; tomorrow's patties made if you prep them ahead; the day's waste logged; and the beef for tomorrow thawing in the walk-in. Front of house: tables and floors, condiments refilled, the delivery tablets off and the packaging counted, the register reconciled, the restrooms cleaned, and the lights, HVAC, alarm and lock-up last. In this kit, the closing checklists by area and the whole-restaurant "Restaurant Closing" tab have those tasks already written, and the "Cash Drawer Opening & Closing" workbook works out the over/short against the POS Z report for you.

Yes. The grill station tasks cover the flat-top griddle preheated to 400–450 °F and scraped between batches, the smash press and spatulas ready, raw-meat boards, tongs and spatulas kept apart from the ones for buns and toppings, smash burgers (a 3–3.5 oz ball pressed on the hot griddle for 30–45 seconds), cheese melted under a dome, buns toasted cut side down, and a deep clean with a scraper and degreaser at close. Doneness is checked with a probe thermometer: ground beef to 155 °F for 17 seconds in the center under the FDA Food Code, rare or medium only when the guest asks for it and your menu carries the consumer advisory, and never for the kids' menu. Chicken goes to 165 °F.

Yes. The fry station checklist covers the oil level and quality before service (with a TPM oil tester), the oil at 350–355 °F, fries cooked in batches without overloading the basket (3–4 minutes for fries, 2–3 for onion rings), seasoning as they come out, nuggets and tenders cooked to 165 °F, and the fryers turned off at close. The oil is filtered every night the way your fryer maker says and changed when the TPM tester says, the manager tests it every week, the fryers get a monthly boil-out, and the quarterly sheet checks the used fryer oil pickups by a licensed recycler.

Yes. The delivery tablets and third-party apps (DoorDash, Uber Eats, Grubhub) go on at opening and off at closing, menus and 86s are updated in the apps, and burger boxes, bags, napkins and fry containers are stocked. The line cook wraps and boxes every takeout and delivery order, with a frill pick in the tall burgers so they don't fall apart, and the packaging left is counted at close. The manager checklists cover delivery times and packaging, app reviews every week and app commissions every month, and game nights get double the delivery packaging with the boxes set up ahead. The kit is written for third-party delivery: there is no checklist for your own drivers.

Yes. The make line is set up before service: lettuce, tomato, onion and pickles in the inserts (the produce washed first), sauces in squeeze bottles, cheese sliced, buns checked and extras such as a fried egg or crispy onions ready. During service, burgers are built to the ticket in order (bun, sauce, patty, cheese, toppings, top bun) and the inserts are restocked as they run low; at close, everything is covered and refrigerated and the waste is logged. The inserts are held at 41 °F or below, cut toppings and coleslaw are date-marked for up to 7 days, house sauces are kept for 5, and a fried egg with a runny yolk needs the consumer advisory on your menu.

Daily cleaning belongs in the closing checklists. On top of that, the kit schedules a weekly deep clean by zone (the flat-top griddle deep cleaned, grease trough and splash guards included, and re-seasoned, the inside of the fryers with the baskets out, walk-in interiors, the hood filters, behind and under equipment, windows, floors with degreaser and restrooms), a weekly FIFO check (fresh ground beef for 3 days at most, opened cheese, house sauces, buns and packaging) with a freezer shelf-life table, and monthly maintenance of the griddle surface and thermostat, a fryer boil-out, the dish machine, the hood motor and filters, and a visual check of the fire extinguisher, the first aid kit and the emergency exits. Contracted services go on the "Quarterly & Annual" tab: hood and duct cleaning under NFPA 96 (quarterly for a high-volume or charbroil kitchen, semiannual if moderate), alongside pest control, fire extinguishers and the hood suppression system, gas, refrigeration, used fryer oil and thermometer calibration.

Yes, you will find free checklist templates online, and a blank one is fine to get started. This kit is something else: 11 Excel workbooks with 346 burger joint tasks already written and sorted by shift, area and role, a counter on every checklist that skips the tasks you mark N/A, °F temperatures under the FDA Food Code and a cash count in US dollars. Print it on US Letter, or save any sheet as a PDF from Excel.

Yes. Every checklist comes with the real tasks of a burger joint already written. You'll want to make it yours: adjust tasks to your restaurant, delete the ones that don't apply and add your own. The editable cells are green, and each checklist ends with 5 free green rows that the counter already includes.

Each checklist has columns for who does it, when (a due-by time on the daily lists, a day on the weekly ones, a frequency on the monthly ones and a lead time on the event lists), ✓ Done and initials. The shift manager prints the checklist and hands it to the team, and each person checks off and initials their tasks. At the end of the shift, the shift manager checks it and signs at the bottom.

Yes. There are checklists for game night (more beef, buns, cheese and fries ordered ahead, double the delivery packaging, burger boxes set up ahead and extra staff), Burger Week (3–5 limited-edition burgers, premium ingredients ordered and the team trained on the new recipes), the holiday season (group bookings with allergens in writing, a deposit and a cancellation policy) and opening and closing patio season. And the bonus calendar lists 22 key US dates for burger joints, from Super Bowl Sunday and National Burger Month to New Year's Eve, with their tasks and recommended lead time.

Checklist apps charge a monthly fee per location and need connected tablets or phones. This kit gives you the same kind of task lists in Excel for $19, a one-time payment. What it is not: there are no reminders, photos or notifications on your staff's phones.

Yes. One purchase covers one business with all of its locations, which makes it a good fit for multi-unit burger operators. If you are a consultant, you can use the checklists with your clients, but you can't hand them copies: each business buys its own.

Yes, with a few edits, all in cells you can change (the protected sheets have no password). The kit is set up for the US: temperatures in °F under the FDA Food Code (41 °F cold holding, 135 °F hot holding, ground beef cooked to 155 °F), the 9 major allergens and a cash count in US bills and coins. In the UK, the legal limits are 8 °C for cold holding and 63 °C for hot holding, and allergen information covers 14 allergens, mustard among them, which is not one of the US 9 (the kit's allergen tasks already note the UK's 14). In Canada and Australia, check your provincial or state food safety rules and allergen list and type them into the tasks. Your patio is your terrace or beer garden, and you can type in the delivery apps you use. For pounds, Canadian or Australian dollars, unprotect the cash count sheet and change the label and value of each bill and coin. If you serve beer, you need the licence your area requires; the legal age is 18 in the UK and Australia, and 19 in most Canadian provinces (18 in Alberta, Manitoba and Quebec). The holiday calendar has a UK note and free rows for your own dates. Every English edition also includes the US · UK · Canada · Australia Equivalents Guide, a bonus with the local terms, taxes, food safety, staff rules and alcohol side by side.

The price is $19 USD, a one-time payment. At checkout, Stripe can show the amount in your local currency (for example GBP, EUR, CAD or AUD) and converts it for you.

No subscription: you pay once and get lifetime access to the online dashboard. When we add new templates or improvements, you get them at no extra cost — just download the files again.

Yes. A full 30-day guarantee. If you're not happy, we'll refund 100% with no questions asked.